Author Topic: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula  (Read 14373 times)

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Offline HikeBikeCook

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The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« on: December 28, 2020, 08:13:20 am »
I have been planning a cross country bike trip either for 2022 or 2023 and want to use as many bike trails as reasonable to stay off roads and out in nature. Our current plans are to ride the TransAm Eastern Express Bike Route from Washington DC to Walden, CO. https://www.easternexpressroute.com/.

From there we were going to pick the the TransAM trail to Oregon. We had looked the the Great American Rail trail but that is literally nonexistent through most of Wyoming and Montana. We are also interested in getting to Olympic National Park and have little desire to go to Oregon between the civil unrest and wildfires. When I look at the Great American Rail Trail Map https://gis.railstotrails.org/grtamerican/ the route looks almost complete from a days ride north of Missoula all the way into Seattle with only a few existing gaps.

Has anyone ridden any of these trails: (we will be riding Surly Disc Truckers)
Route of the Olympian
NorPac Trail
Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes
Palouse to Cascades Trail
Snoqualmie Valley Trail
Issaquah-Preston Trail
East Lake Sammamish Trail
Sammamish River Trail
Burke-Gilman Trail
Ship Canal Trail
Elliot Bay Trail
Surly Disc Trucker, Lightspeed Classic, Scott Scale, Klein Mantra Comp. First touring bike Peugeot U08 - 1966

Offline jamawani

Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2020, 10:21:55 am »
HBC -

I have toured tens of thousands of miles in North America.
There are advantages and disadvantages of bike trails.

You mention you wish to do as many trails as possible -
And, I suspect, the absence of car traffic is the main reason.

Two things about rail trails & canal trails.
On many trail you are in a tunnel of trees constantly.
While the shade can be nice in summer - you don't see much.
Also, rail trails are built on long-abandoned rail lines,
So, often,  services have migrated elsewhere.

Not to mention that many rail trails are not paved -
And unpaved surfaces can run from great to awful.
Especially if there has been recent heavy rain.

Very low traffic roads and moderate traffic secondary highways with shoulders
Can provide a welcome alternative to rail trails.

<<<>>>

The so-called Great American Rail Trail is a self-promotion by RTC.
To even imagine it in places like Wyoming or Montana is ludicrous.
It is simply a line drawn on a map - pure imagination & hype -
There have never been rail lines where it is drawn in Wyoming and Montana.

<<<>>>

That said, I've been on many of the above trails.
It appears as though you are trying to get from Missoula to Seattle.

The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes is one of the best in the U.S.
But the section from Kellogg to Mullan sucks and dumps you on I-90.
It is much better to cross Thompson Pass on paved forest roads.


The Palouse to Cascades Trail basically does not exist.
There is a right of way, but it is huge clinker rock - barely walkable.
There are many paved roads with litte traffic in eastern Washington.
The problem is too few people and long distances between services.
Westbound it will be wheat harvest seaons - golden brown.
Eastbound it would be rolling green hills and blue skies.

Crossing the Columbia River is a huge issue.
The historic rail bridge remains closed and will remain so indefinitely.
The I-90 bridge at Vantage has no shoulders and is dangerous.
If you do this route - I suggest you arrange a car or boat pickup.
The ride down to the river on the Old Vantage Highway is spectacular.
There is a boat launch at the river and you could hitch a ride?
Or you can call the Riverstone Motel & Campground and hire a lift?

Since you have to cross at Vantage - the Old Vantage Highway to Ellensburg makes saense.
Not to mention that it has almost zero traffic - but big headwinds westbound.
So you have to leave at sunrise - hopefully, before the winds kick up.

From Ellensburg, the Iron Horse Trail is a good choice - unpaved but o.k. surface.
In late spring it can be really muddy, but by July/Aug it should be quite dry.
It is very tricky getting into Seattle from North Bend.
(I'll defer to a Seattlite - rhymes with "satellite" - to give you details.)
Why not ride the Snoqualmie Valley, instead?
To Everett - meh. Or, at least, to Anacortes.
Better yet, take the ferry out to the San Juan Islands for a finale.

I rode the Snoqualmie Valley last year, southbound.
The Snoqualmie Trail is fair, at best. Dirt surface & slow.
But the valley highway has no shoulder and is moderately busy.
The Carnation Campground is fabulous.
County roads on the west side of the river are excellent.
The Centennial Trail from Snohomish past Arlington is one of the best in the U.S.

There are great bus/rail connections back to Seattle.
Plus they are all bike friendly.

<<<>>>

Finally, one of the issues of connecting rail trail segments
Is that you may end up on nasty connector roads.
Sometimes rail trails dump you out onto very busy highways.
Many local users drive to the trailheads so thru connections don't matter.
I would urge you to be more flexible in choices of routes.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2020, 12:13:07 pm by jamawani »

Offline BikeliciousBabe

Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2020, 11:01:53 am »
I rode:

1. The eastern 7 miles of the CdA Trail east from Wallace to its terminus in 2017 and 2019. You will notice the uphill grade. Paved surface was in good condition.

2. Most of the NorPac Trail west to Lookout Pass in 2017 and 2019. If heading east, you will definitely notice the downhill grade. Trail surface varies. I had to skateboard for a bit closer to the top because of flooding The lower mileage west of I-90 was not is an good a shape in 2019 as it was in 2017. Note that it does not connect end to end with the Olympian. That is a different former rail line that is at a higher grade. You can transition between the two by climbing a steep, dirt connection road at Saltese that is not shown on Google Maps unless you look at satellite View:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Taft,+MT+59867/@47.4127628,-115.5221292,391m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x536092ad38dc2e81:0xb14f226fee2c6b3c!8m2!3d47.416332!4d-115.597168

3. The first two miles of the Olympian west from St. Regis in 2017. Pretty rough surface with some sizeable stones for a trail. It got off and opted for I-90. Note that there is a bridge out just beyond that point. You have to take a short detour.

4. The Olympian from Haugan west to the aforementioned transition to the NoPac in 2017. Much better than the first two mile and pretty.  Looking at the satellite imagery, it appears improvements were made since I was there in 2017. One thing I noticed is that just east of Haugan the restored the missing bridge over Big Creek just where it empties into the St. Regis River. When I was there a local told me you had to take a detour on local roads. The unused portion of the trail had gone to pot. I talked to him at the junction of Big Creek Rd. and the road that passes under I-90. You could see that section of the trail was overgrown. He told me to take Big Creek Rd. west and them hang a right where it crossed the trail. The imagery makes that section look restored.  Note that east of Haugan, there is a stretch where you cannot get off the trail for many miles if you find it not to your liking. Also, unless something has changed, the trail ends in St. Regis and does not take you to Missoula. Bridging that gap requires some I-90 riding.

Offline adventurepdx

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Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2020, 02:10:02 pm »
We are also interested in getting to Olympic National Park and have little desire to go to Oregon between the civil unrest and wildfires.

The "civil unrest" in Oregon has been widely exaggerated by the media. Most of what you saw was confined to several blocks in downtown Portland. As the TransAm route does not even come close to Portland (and skirts the center of Eugene, if you are worried about there,) civil unrest would be the least of your worries on a bike tour.

The TransAm does pass through the burn area in the McKenzie River Valley, though. You could bypass it by using US 20, but that road is probably busier.

Offline jamawani

Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2020, 03:03:42 pm »
If you want to head out to the Olympic Peninsula,
then routing via Anacortes - mebbe the San Juans -
then Whidbey Island and Port Townsend is a good way to go.

Offline HikeBikeCook

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Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2020, 06:54:31 pm »
Thanks all for your input. There are a lot of videos out there showing trail conditions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI717MIlfew We have ridden lots of trails for multiple days and would much rather spend 8 hours looking at trees rather than civilization :D; housing, and highways - but to each their own. Just too darn many people in the world so it is hard to get away. I think you will find a lot more bridge work has been done since you last rode the trail jamawani https://palousetocascadestrail.org/ and from the reports the one really poor surface is across the Army range 20 miles of loose sand.

Water is more of an issue than food, but I have not found any real show stoppers yet. I am use to carrying 5 days of food and have a bear canister.

Bridging the gap from Missoula to ST. Regis can be done on service roads and local roads so you do not need to ride on I-90. It is about a days ride but there are some camping and hotel options along the way.

We are very open on our route planning and will be retired, so just need to finish before it gets too cold or too snowy to ride. We are riding to see the countryside not get to a particular destination at a particular time.
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Offline jamawani

Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2020, 08:15:59 pm »
I can assure you -
In eastern Washington - i.e east of the Columbia - the Palouse to Cascades Trail is brutal.
https://cloxdogblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/day-7-revere-to-morengo/
Check out the clinker in photo near bottom of page.

The Beverly Bridge remains closed and gated with additional barbed wire.
I hope that it will be reopened, but I would not plan on it given the history.
It's been 30+ years of promises - - - but I'm hopeful.

Offline adventurepdx

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Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2020, 08:24:20 pm »
The Beverly Bridge remains closed and gated with additional barbed wire.
I hope that it will be reopened, but I would not plan on it given the history.
It's been 30+ years of promises - - - but I'm hopeful.

From the website HikeBikeCook mentioned:
https://palousetocascadestrail.org/beverly-bridge.html
Looks like construction is slated for 2021, with an aim-to opening date of September 2021. Of course, that could be pushed back, but they are actually doing something about the bridge.

Offline BikeliciousBabe

Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2020, 11:26:54 am »


Bridging the gap from Missoula to ST. Regis can be done on service roads and local roads so you do not need to ride on I-90. It is about a days ride but there are some camping and hotel options along the way.
I'd like to see a route map. Done it twice and could not find any options but to ride on I-90 for relatively short sections. One example is west of Albterton, between I-90 interchanges 75 and 70. In 2017 I tried the trail off of W. Mountain Creek Rd. that is shown on Google Maps. After a few miles there was a tall fence that prevented further travel. Had to double back and take the interstate. Also between interchange 37 and 33 for St. Regis. Sloway Rd. becomes a private road according to what I have seen. It's the former Milwaukee Rd. right-of-way, as is the trail mentioned above. Neat use of ould signals:

https://www.google.com/maps/@47.2838654,-115.0820298,3a,75y,84.2h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scrJAi8o1SxqnaFRXym7hoA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DcrJAi8o1SxqnaFRXym7hoA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D81.48768%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Offline HikeBikeCook

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Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #9 on: December 29, 2020, 12:45:16 pm »


Bridging the gap from Missoula to ST. Regis can be done on service roads and local roads so you do not need to ride on I-90. It is about a days ride but there are some camping and hotel options along the way.
I'd like to see a route map. Done it twice and could not find any options but to ride on I-90 for relatively short sections. One example is west of Albterton, between I-90 interchanges 75 and 70. In 2017 I tried the trail off of W. Mountain Creek Rd. that is shown on Google Maps. After a few miles there was a tall fence that prevented further travel. Had to double back and take the interstate. Also between interchange 37 and 33 for St. Regis. Sloway Rd. becomes a private road according to what I have seen. It's the former Milwaukee Rd. right-of-way, as is the trail mentioned above. Neat use of ould signals:

https://www.google.com/maps/@47.2838654,-115.0820298,3a,75y,84.2h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scrJAi8o1SxqnaFRXym7hoA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DcrJAi8o1SxqnaFRXym7hoA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D81.48768%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is the Google Map I was using. I have not changed any starting points in Missoula, I just picked the city as the starting point. The end point is the trailhead.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Missoula,+MT/47.2964581,-115.1234552/@47.0882862,-114.8389208,97421m/am=t/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x535dcc2a50f367cb:0xe9e31277ca94802e!2m2!1d-113.9940314!2d46.8721284!1m0!3e1
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Offline bgravemeister

Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #10 on: December 29, 2020, 07:57:21 pm »
Local Seattlite here. I can't speak properly to anything east of the Cascades, but I'll speak to those I'm very familiar with by responding to your list directly:

Snoqualmie Valley Trail
Love this trail. It's just beautiful and very safe. Ride it all the time on our Surly Midnight Specials. It's all packed gravel, if you have 32's or wider you'll be just fine. If you're trying to connect multiple trails, this one dives into Duvall and ends there. To connect to any of the other trails, the best way is to peel off in Carnation and hit up a very popular riding route on the main road through town. Heading south wraps you around into Redmond (very pretty riding with only one grinder up and over into Redmond), specifically on East Lake Sammamish Road which will bring you to the East Lake Sammamish Trail/Sammamish River Trail/Burke-Gilman Trail.

East Lake Sammamish Trail
This stretches from Issaquah up into MaryMoor Park in Redmond where it connects directly to the Sammamish River Trail. The route I mentioned from the above trail will drop you down onto the road that this trail parallels. It's mostly paved, with a bit of it being packed gravel. They're actively working on paving a bit more of it every year it seems. If there is construction, the road that this trail follows (East Lake Sammamish Parkway) is quite safe, a super popular riding route that the vast majority of cyclists ride rather than the trail since it's easier (way less stops, there are a lot of driveways that go down to waterfront homes that have right of way) and much smoother.
(I actually have never ridden the Issaquah trail you mentioned so I can't speak to how the two may connect, but I do know they're not very close to one another so it'd be a bit of road riding to connect).

Sammamish River Trail/Burke-Gilman Trail
As mentioned above, the Sammamish River Trail connects from Redmond, around Lake Washington where it turns into the Burke-Gilman to bring you right into Seattle. It's all fully paved. It dips by the University of Washington, through Fremont and ending in Ballard.

Fun fact: The recent completion of the new 520 bridge features a damn fine bridge trail that stretches from UW, across the bridge, and into the Bellevue/Kirkland border. Some safe road riding will connect you onto the East 520 bridge trail that dips down into Redmond connecting directly with the Sammamish River Trail, giving you a couple options for getting to Seattle. Though if you're wanting to avoid hills, take the normal SRT-Burke route :)

Ship Canal Trail
This is a paved trail that begins in South Lake Union and parallels the Burke along the canal. To get to it from the Burke, you'll take the Burke into Fremont, peel off to cross over the canal via the Fremont Bridge, with the Ship Canal Trail just underneath. The trail itself will dump you on a dedicated cycling path alongside the road in the Magnolia area, where you can safely connect to the Elliot Bay Trail.

Elliot Bay Trail
This paved trail will bring you from the Magnolia area and over to the Seattle waterfront/downtown proper. A bunch of it was redone thanks to Expedia. It's a beautiful ride with full views of the entire waterfront stretch. The start of it is pretty narrow as it squeezes between some private property, but it won't last long.

Hope that helps :)

Offline HikeBikeCook

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Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2020, 07:50:44 am »
Thanks bgravemeister, very insightful information. Things are changing on a monthly basis depending on what trail projects are funded, or cut, and what work is delayed, due to COVID, or actually pushed ahead since it is outdoor work. With our earliest departure June 2022, but most likely 2023, we literally have years to plan.

As with any long trip involving multiple route options, moving one piece, or adding or dropping a trail, has a cascading effect. But like Eisenhower said; "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." If you review all of your options in advance you can quickly adapt when you hit a roadblock.
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Offline bgravemeister

Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #12 on: December 30, 2020, 09:41:08 am »
I forgot to say that the Snoqualmie Valley Trail connects naturally to the Iron Horse Trail which connects to the John Wayne trail which stretches most, if not the entire state. The entire stretch is Rail-To-Trail, making it a super safe and a very popular touring route. There are a couple times you'll have to hit the road, but it's always safe with drivers expecting cyclists most times.

That said, indeed, you have some time! It'll be a fun trip regardless. The more videos I've been watching on touring the more I'm gathering that same concept: plans are useless, but planning is invaluable. Fortunately I've been backpacking enough for that concept to translate fairly well I think when I eventually head out on my first tour.

Offline HikeBikeCook

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Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #13 on: December 30, 2020, 10:43:44 am »
bgravemeister - I found that there is a lot of valuable knowledge that you can carry over from backpacking. I did an AT through hike in 2007 and, even though I had camped and bike toured all of my life, living on the trail for over 5 months gets you to a point of knowing what you need versus what is nice to have. Also, packing a backpack in rainy weather for me is a different approach than packing for hot and dry days. When you have to setup in the rain you want your tent towards the top. One advantage with cycling with panniers, especially if you have front and rear, it is easier to organize stuff. With a backpack you are typically packing bottom up and unpacking top down. With multiple panniers you have lots of options on gear placement.
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Offline BikeliciousBabe

Re: The Great American Rail Trail Seattle to Missoula
« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2021, 11:30:23 am »


Bridging the gap from Missoula to ST. Regis can be done on service roads and local roads so you do not need to ride on I-90. It is about a days ride but there are some camping and hotel options along the way.
I'd like to see a route map. Done it twice and could not find any options but to ride on I-90 for relatively short sections. One example is west of Albterton, between I-90 interchanges 75 and 70. In 2017 I tried the trail off of W. Mountain Creek Rd. that is shown on Google Maps. After a few miles there was a tall fence that prevented further travel. Had to double back and take the interstate. Also between interchange 37 and 33 for St. Regis. Sloway Rd. becomes a private road according to what I have seen. It's the former Milwaukee Rd. right-of-way, as is the trail mentioned above. Neat use of ould signals:

https://www.google.com/maps/@47.2838654,-115.0820298,3a,75y,84.2h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scrJAi8o1SxqnaFRXym7hoA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DcrJAi8o1SxqnaFRXym7hoA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D81.48768%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is the Google Map I was using. I have not changed any starting points in Missoula, I just picked the city as the starting point. The end point is the trailhead.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Missoula,+MT/47.2964581,-115.1234552/@47.0882862,-114.8389208,97421m/am=t/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x535dcc2a50f367cb:0xe9e31277ca94802e!2m2!1d-113.9940314!2d46.8721284!1m0!3e1

I did not look at the entire route map, but I am virtually certain that a portion of the road that huggs the river east of Tarkiro is a private road conisting of the former Milwaukee Road railroad right of way. Look at the satellite view. You can see what looks like a structure built on or very close to the road. Relatively recently I read a post on CGOAB from a guy who tried to go that way. He got flak from a property owner.

Also, your route incioporates the trail I mentioned in a previous post. That is definitely former Milwaukee Road right of way. The more eastern part appears to be owned by the state because there is a least one interprative sign about the railroad history. But unless something has changed since 2017, it's fenced off closer to the western end, after you bypass the closed railroad tunnell, by an impenitrable fence that runs way up the hillside. It was probably a good 7' tall. There was a gate/door, but it was locked tight. Had to backtrack for several miles to get on I-90. When I got off I-90 at Cyr Bridge I went to check out the west end of the trail segement at Mead Lane. There was a sign warning people that tresspassing is a qucker way than prayer to meet God.

If you look at Cyr Bridge itself on satellite view you can see the old Milwaukee Road bridge piers in the river just to the north of the highway bridge. The dirt looking road that parallels Old Hwy. 10 to the north is a continuation of the Milwaukee Rd. right of way. Follow that until Triple Birdges at Alberton Gorge and you will see a former railroad bridge across the river. Follow the "scar" further and it becomes Elizabeth Ln. and eventually what I believe is the private road referred to in the paragraph above.